


Unexpected

by murdergatsby



Series: Flufftober 2018 [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bickering, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Feelings, Pre-Relationship, Protective Stiles Stilinski, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 11:59:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16197095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/murdergatsby/pseuds/murdergatsby
Summary: Stiles gives Derek a key to his home so that Derek will get inlesslegal trouble should he ever get caught sneaking in.





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys. I'm doing flufftober this month.  
> [(more info + upcoming prompt list in series description )](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1148888)
> 
> Today's prompt was _key_.  
>  The timeline for this sucks. It was supposed to be in season one but, where in season one? I don't know. I don't care.  
> I hope you guys don't either.  
> ♡♡♡  
> (it's 2am)

When Stiles arrived home and opened his bedroom door, he found Derek already seated on the edge of his bed. Derek was thumbing through a magazine, and the way the sheets behind him were flattened into the shape of a man led Stiles to believe that he had  _ just  _ been reclined against his mattress. Derek had gone ahead and made himself comfortable.  _ Right at home _ . He hardly even looked up when Stiles walked in, as if he were expected to be there.

In all honesty, it didn’t  _ shock _ Stiles to see him when he opened the door- but, he hadn’t been invited. The two of them hadn’t made any plans. He  _ wasn’t  _ expected.

“Oh, good.” Stiles said. “You’re here!”

Stiles’ mannerisms read as if he were excited, but his tone stayed relatively flat. He walked to his desk and picked something metal up from the wooden surface. He tossed it to Derek, before Derek had the chance to respond, and Derek caught it front of his face.

“What’s this?” Derek asked, finally putting the magazine he had found down and acknowledging Stiles’ existence. He looked to his own open palm, at the single key + keyring combo that Stiles had just assaulted him with.

“It’s,” Stiles began, before entering a deep and dramatic pause. He let his bag fall from his shoulder and onto the floor, before taking a seat at his desk chair. He spun it around to face Derek, and clapped his hands once in front of him as if he were making a  _ super important point _ and needed  _ all of Derek’s attention _ for it.

“A key.” He finally said.

Derek’s expression flatlined.

“Are you familiar with them?” Stiles continued. “I know the doorbell seems to evade your understanding so, I get it if-”

“I know what a key is.” Derek snapped. “What is this key  _ for _ ? Why are you giving it to me?”

Stiles sighed, and his energy changed along with the expelled air. The playful tease in his eyes died away, and was effortlessly replaced with sincerity. “It’s a key to the front door.” He explained. His voice started a little lower than it had been before- a little quieter.

Derek leaned back, away, and turned his face from Stiles- as if he were offended by something that had been said. He was confused. He  _ obviously _ didn’t need a key to get into the Stilinski’s home, and he never had. The windows worked just fine, and it wasn’t the only option he had. It wasn’t like he was lacking the experience needed to get in whenever he needed to.

“Look.” Stiles said- as if he could read the train of thought Derek was on. He scooted his chair across the floor with a quick and laborious crawl of his feet, until he was only a foot or so away from where Derek sat. “You can’t just walk into people’s homes. It’s illegal.” He explained. He looked Derek dead in the eye and clasped his hands between his knees. He was mirroring the way his father posed when he had serious talks with him- this was all he had to draw from for this kind of conversation.

Derek’s opened his mouth to make a counterpoint: that, he didn’t much  _ care _ what the law was.

“I don’t know if you know this, but my father is the sheriff.” Stiles continued- effectively cutting him off. “And, he  _ will _ arrest you if he catches you in his house uninvited. He’s funny like that.”

Derek’s mouth closed. He scowled. He knew Stiles was right. There had already been a handful of close calls where Derek was in Stiles’ room, and Noah made a quick peek inside. The only thing that had saved him was the fact that Noah trusted his kid; he never went in and snooped around. He respected the closed door. Derek was safe so long as he was out of the immediate line of sight- but that didn’t mean it was always going to be that way.

“If you have a key, though, you can just- open the door.” Stiles added. “No more sneaking in windows, no more picking locks…” He gestured, twice, to his still open window that he  _ presumed _ Derek had crawled through. “And, if you have a  _ key _ then you’re not  _ really  _ breaking in. I looked it up; that’s what the law is.”

Derek only blinked, for a moment, while he digested what Stiles had said. He shook his head once he had his thoughts organized. “Me having a key doesn’t alter the risk I run when I come here. Your dad can still arrest me.”

“Yeah but,” Stiles said, nodding. “If you do get arrested you can at least  _ say _ you have a key- and, that I gave it to you as a resident of the home. Then I just get in trouble with my dad for being irresponsible, and you don’t wind up in jail.”

Stiles was proud of the research he had put into this, and the effort it had taken to make the spare key without his father asking why he needed it. He didn’t care if Derek ever  _ used _ the key, he just wanted him to keep it on him. He just wanted him to have some kind of protection in all this, in case the worst came to worst. 

The thought came to Derek’s mind that Stiles had done all this to keep him  _ safe.  _ He put in all this unneeded effort just to keep Derek  _ safe _ , and the full reasoning behind that eluded him.

Again, Derek’s face fell into a tense scowl. Stiles smiled back at him- wide, and warm- despite this.

Derek decided to, finally, grunt with some kind of approval. He let the key rest on his person, and accepted the gift.

“Okay.” Stiles said, victoriously. He slapped his hands down on his own thighs before turning back in the direction of his desk. He pulled his chair back into its proper place, opened up his laptop, and didn’t even  _ think _ to ask why Derek was there  _ right now _ .

Somewhat sheepishly, Derek picked his magazine back up and pretended to get back to reading it. Normally, he would just interrupt with the  _ why _ for his visit. Normally, he didn’t need the invite. However, after that conversation, he just couldn’t get the authority he needed back in his voice.

So, Derek put the reason he was there on hold. He tried to just let things be, and not scratch at the surface of  _ why _ Stiles cared whether or not if he got arrested. He tried to let himself settle down, and not overthink everything.

_ He’s just a good person, I guess. _


End file.
